Chapter Text
伸出双手 前方有我在这里
我们会相见 不要去想念
我就是你的未来
你就是我的过去
Stretch out your hands, I am there in front of you
We will meet, don’t yearn for me
I am your future
You are my past
When Craig heard their parents arguing about to divorce, he didn’t really pay any attention, like usually. It wasn’t the first time they’ve shouted at, threatening each other with this kind of stuff. But at that time Tweek happened to be at his place too, and he couldn’t ignore the situation like his best friend. He was twitching a lot more than usual, so Craig moved closer to him, after putting Stripe back to his cage, who was on his lap before. He did his best to calm him down – which wasn’t that much – patting the other’s back. They didn’t say a word, just listening to the loud voices came up from downstairs. But then Craig’s father said something what freaked out Tweek even more: he shouted at his wife that he will move out from this poisonous place that made his son a faggot, and will take him as well.
“GAH! W-what?!” – Tweek cried out.
“He can’t do that, right?! He can’t take you away, right? RIGHT?!” – He asked Craig in panic but his friend was in shock too. He always has known that his father was getting the wrong impression about his relationship with Tweek, because they’re best friends and they sleep at each other’s places, they have a guinea pig who they call their son, and yes, because of the Asian girls they have to pretend that they’re together, but his parents should know that’s not for real – at least not in a way that would make him a faggot.
Craig’s mind went blank so he didn’t even hear anything what Tweek said – or more correctly screamed in panic. His face was getting more and more pale and he unconsciously grabbed Tweek’s hand so hard that the other squeaked – this was what pulled back him to reality.
“Ah, I’m sorry dude.” He said as he let go Tweek.
“No-! Gah, I mean it’s okay it didn’t hurt that much. B-but Craig... Do you think your father really meant it?!”
“...I have no fucking idea.” His hands were cold and his throat was dry, which was far from normal when it came to him. He usually gave zero fucks about the stuff was going on within his family, but now it wasn’t about just his family, if they would move away, that would mean that he couldn’t see Tweek anymore – he didn’t want that.
“Look, there’s no way I’ll move away. Just... For now, we shouldn’t even think about it.” He really hoped that this would calm down Tweek’s nerves.
“B-But-!”
“I won’t leave you, okay?! It’s-... There is no fucking way!” As soon as he said that he regretted his words a bit, because he saw the other boy’s cheek turning red. A warm feeling started in his chest and then climbed up to his ears – fuck, why was he blushing?! – so he turned his sight away embarrassed, but the blonde one was throwing himself into Craig’s arms, so even though it felt awkward, he hugged him tight, while Tweek was sobbing and mumbled something he couldn’t hear. The stayed like that for a very long time, until the voices downstairs and in their heads have faded away so much that they could sleep calmly in each other’s arms.
Deep inside they hoped that Craig’s parents have forgotten all about the day before. Tweek was still sleeping in Craig’s arms, which now hurt like hell but he didn’t have the heart to wake him up, so they stayed like that for another half an hour until Tweek started to open his eyes too with some growling and yawning.
“Hey Tweekers” Craig smiled at the shorter boy, rubbing the blonde hair and stretching his arms.
“’Mornin’” Tweek seemed really tired as usual, and as soon as he realized the position they were in – their legs on each other, way too close – he blushed hard and got up from bed fast. Craig didn’t really acknowledge his friend’s reaction because he was still sleepy.
“W-we should go downstairs-! I-I need some coffee! – Tweek stuttered, so Craig – as a good friend he is only for Tweek – got up too and walked down with him to the kitchen. But after making the coffee and some breakfast, he heard a loud noise – maybe someone have shut a door – and footsteps dashing down the stairs. A second later, they’ve known the source of the noises too.
“CRAIG!” His father harshly called out for him.
“What?!” He really wasn’t in the mood to communicate with any family member – not like there was a time when he was.
“Send home that nerve-racking friend of yours and start to pack, you have one hour!” He ordered his son, then disappeared to somewhere.
Pure fear was that could be seen on Tweek’s face, but Craig was mostly furious than frightened.
“W-what the hell?! Gah! Craig?!!” – The blonde boy was jitterier than ever, but the only thing Craig could do was grab the boy’s hand and try not to shout or cry or both. “You can’t go! You said yesterday that you w-won’t! THIS CAN’T BE REAL!” – It looked like Tweek’s going to have a panic attack, so Craig put away his fury, and hold tight his best friend.
“Tweekers... It’s going to be oka-“
“NO, IT WON’T! You are going to leave me, agh, and I-I c-can’t-“ Now he was crying on Craig’s shoulders, who tried to hush him, with not so much luck. They didn’t even realize, when Craig’s father shouted at them and then run upstairs to grab some clothes for his son. When he found them still holding hands, while Tweek was crying and Craig was also rubbing his eyes hard, he separated them with strength and put Craig into his vehicle. It was no use, how loud Craig was shouting or now crying for his best friend, the father didn’t listen, just mumbled to himself.
“I won’t let my son to be a fucking faggot, for fuck’s sake!”
The word sad didn’t describe what Craig felt in their new flat, all alone in his room. The first few days didn’t even seem real for him. He just wandered through the rooms in the same clothes, with the same expression on his face, which can’t be spoken by words. His whole life turned upside down and he didn’t have any idea how to deal with that. Craig didn’t really sleep, eat or speak during the first week, but his father didn’t give a single fuck about it – at least it was like that for Craig.
But that time was almost as hellish for the father like the son. He was fed up with the town and his wife but he was also starting to miss it. The only thought that hold him back was the safe of his son.
He knew all too well this situation, since there was a boy like Craig before in South Park. It was quite long ago, before their children, when he only started to date his future wife in their senior year. That boy was always with one of his friends, but only him. They shared their toys as well as their secrets. When puberty hit them, the town started to question their relationship, since they were too close to each other, they were inseparable. One day, there was a big issue in the local high school about someone who was beaten up. Craig’s father only heard the victim’s name and somehow, he knew what happened. Even so, he was still shocked when he realized that it was his best friend who hurt the boy, when he showed off with the story after school in front of their group of friends. “Yeah, I punched that little pussy in the face, ‘cause you know, he’s a pussy, a fag.” After that day the kid’s life was living hell. He got beaten up every single day by some guys and his friend also started to ignore him. Then once the kids went too far, and the poor guy ended up in a hospital, the family decided to move far away and he has never heard about them afterwards. So, Thomas Tucker decided that his son won’t be some miserable kid, lying on some dirty hospital bed. He needed to believe in his theory, which is the only way his son’s life could be, if he doesn’t separate him and that Tweak boy. And still, there was a part of him that wanted to go back to home, to have a whole family. Of course, Craig didn’t know this story, nor what his father thought, so he was just upset about the situation.
When Craig called Tweek on the second day, after he gathered some strength for doing it, they could only speak a few words, before his father heard them from the other room and took away Craig’s phone. He also took away his computer, to prevent any kind of communication between the two boys.
“What the hell?!” Craig shouted, when Thomas broke in half his phone in front of his eyes.
“You won’t talk with him.”
“W-what?!”
“You two won’t talk ever again!” When Craig flipped him off and wanted to say some other things, a sudden punch came from his father.
“I SAID, you won’t talk to him!” Craig just flipped him off again and disappeared in his so-called room.
It went like this for a few days, because Craig stole his father’s phone and then borrowed his laptop, but he got caught every time, and got beaten up. After the ninth time, Craig felt miserable, looking up into his father’s eyes, when he shouted at him.
“DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!” His father shout for the tenth time at least, when Craig finally surrendered.
“...Yes.”
“I don’t think I’ve heard that.” Craig sighed at his father’s nonsense, but said anyways what he wanted to hear.
“Yes, sir.”
“Good.”
After that Craig didn’t try to get connected with Tweek anymore. His face hurt too much because of his father’s fists. Since it was almost September and Thomas didn’t want to deal with attending his son into a new school and he was getting tired of being angry at his wife, they moved back again to the family’s house in South Park.
Craig’s mother and sister didn’t really give a shit about his bruises, they were getting used to see him that way, since he got into fights in school pretty often – even if it was always the result of some kind of bet, what Cartman and his friends made up. So, it seemed everything got back to normal, whatever it was to the Tucker family. But before the first day of school, Thomas remembered Craig that he can’t talk with the blonde boy. It was more like a threat, since Craig got some new bruises to his arms, from his father’s grip. Craig didn’t even said anything to him anymore, except some “Sure”s and “Yes, Sir”s. His mind was blank, he didn’t really think of anything, just did things how he was asked to, if a psychologist had seen him that time, they would say he was getting in depression despite of his young age.
On the first day of school, nobody really payed any attention to him, like always, most of the people didn’t even notice that he was out of town for a long time. Nobody, except Tweek. He rushed to him in the second, he saw him.
“HAH, CRAIG?! You came back?”
“Hm.”
“Why didn’t you write me anything?! GAH! You disappeared! It was so stressful!”
“Sorry.” He said, but his voice was even quieter, than usual. Before the stuff with his dad, his voice sounded like he didn’t give a single fuck about anything – which was true – but now it just seemed... lifeless, Tweek thought.
“Are-are you okay, Craig?” He was concerned about his best friend, so he put his hand on the other’s shoulder to comfort him. But in the same second Craig jumped back from the touch. For a second, Tweek could’ve swear that it was fear he saw in his eyes. But Tweek couldn’t even ask about it, since Craig, like some kind of shitty robot has spoken up first.
“I’m okay. I don’t wanna talk with you, just leave.”
Craig rushed away from his sight, leaving the blonde boy speechless. This is not Craig, it can’t be – he thought.